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Faculty & Staff
Tish Cordova, Artistic Director, began her training with Tatiana and Oleg Tupine in 1976 and performed many featured roles with the Virginia Ballet Company. In 1986 she accepted a contract to dance with the Tulsa Ballet Theatre. As a soloist for Tulsa, Ms. Cordova performed principal roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Lev Ivanov’s Nutcracker, the Rancher’s Daughter in Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, and the High Priestess in Arthur Mitchell’s Rhythmetron. While with Tulsa her repertoire expanded to include George Balanchine’s Mozart Violin Concerto, Lew Christensen’s Filling Station, Ruth Page’s Carmen and The Merry Widow, and Frederic Franklin’s Tribute. She has worked with many distinguished choreographers including Frederic Franklin, Peter Anastos, Larry Long, and Esmerelda Agogliev. Ms. Cordova also has numerous years of managerial and administrative experience and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree. |
Paula Tennyson, Choreographer, began her ballet training in Texas with Alexander Kotchetovsky and studied with Nikita Talin. At the age of fourteen she joined the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet Company, Ballet Theatre, and at age seventeen joined the famous Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. There she rapidly rose to the rank of first soloist. Ms. Tennyson has been featured as a guest artist on many occasions, including several network television appearances. She has staged four ballets for Virginia Ballet Company: Giselle, Chopiniana, Raymonda Variations, and Pas de Trois. |
Jessica Braxton danced with Virginia Ballet from 1990-1997, performing roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker and traveling to Russia with Virginia Ballet in 1995. Ms. Braxton continued her training at Goucher College where she had the opportunity to take classes from renowned guest artists from American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, and Stuttgart Ballet. She has taught ballet and lyrical dance at Metropolitan Fine Arts Center. |
Stacey Claytor has studied and dedicated the majority of her life to the art of dance. She chose James Madison University where she continued to enrich her technique and range and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre and Dance with a concentration in dance. In addition, Ms. Claytor has studied with several dance studios in Virginia and New York City, including the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. With a passionate love for dance and the performing arts, Ms. Claytor constantly seeks opportunities to perform, instruct, and give back to the community the joy she has experienced through dance. |
Tracy Doyle trained with Tatiana Rousseau and Oleg Tupine from 1977-1990. She danced principal and solo roles in numerous Virginia Ballet productions including Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Don Quixote, Faust, and Raymonda Variations. Ms. Doyle went on to Northern Virginia Community College and earned two Associate Degrees in Art and Fine Arts. |
Dina Fadeyeva Ms. Fadeyeva was born in Almaty, Kazahkstan and received her training at the acclaimed Almaty State Ballet Academy. Ms. Fadeyeva danced with the Almaty State Theatre of Ballet and Opera from 1985-1989. In 1989, she went to Moscow, Russia to study at the Gitis Choreographic Institute where she studied under Marina Semynova; she graduated in 1994. From 1993-1996, Ms. Fadeyeva taught at the Moscow Institute of Contemporary Dance as well as being a guest artist with many companies in Moscow. In 1996, Ms. Fadeyeva returned to Almaty State Ballet Academy to continue her career in teaching and taught at the Almaty Institute of Contemporary Dance. In 2000, Ms. Fadeyeva participated in the International Festival of Traditional Dance in Almaty and won the Grand Prix. In addition, many of Ms. Fadeyeva’s students have won prizes in International Ballet Competitions in Moscow, Budapest, Lausanne, and elsewhere. In 2005, she choreographed her own production, “Triumph of Athena” with music by Mahler, for the Almaty State Theatre of Ballet and Opera. That same year, Ms. Fadeyeva accepted a teaching position with the Ballet Royale in Maryland and came to the United States. |
Penelope Lewis trained and danced with Virginia Ballet from 1993-2002, performing leading roles in Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Alice in Wonderland. Ms. Lewis then continued her training at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she graduated Magna cum Laude with a B.A. in Dance. There she had the opportunity to work with renowned guest artists and faculty, including Madame Nathalie Krassovska, Vivi Flindt of the Royal Danish Ballet, Laura Alonso, Tauna Hunter, Luis Montero and members of Pilobolus. Ms. Lewis is also a dancer with Manassas Ballet Theater. |
Ann Saretzky McGinnis began ballet training in Berlin, Germany and started at Virginia Ballet in 1976. She was a staff member and rehearsal assistant from 1983 to 1987 and received a B.S. in Dance from Radford University in 1990. Subsequently, while earning an M.F.A. in Dance, Ms. McGinnis served on the faculty of Point Park College, James Madison University, Shenandoah University and George Mason University. She has received commissions for choreography from Virginia Ballet, Rockbridge Ballet, and Loudoun Ballet and has won awards for both choreography and costume design. At Virginia Ballet Ms. McGinnis shares the love of dance nurtured by Tatiana Rousseau and Oleg Tupine. |
Barbara Mirabello has incorporated her experience as an RN in Neurosurgery and Orthopedics and her interest in Natural Health, yoga, reflexology, fitonics and healing touch therapy to provide a gentle stretch program designed to safely stretch, strengthen and relax the entire body. She keeps up to date on current trends with monthly updates from the Weill Medical College at Cornell University and the Tufts University fitness newsletter. Mrs. Mirabello holds a Yoga Fitness Certification from the AFPA (American Fitness Professionals & Associates). |
Susanne Mirabello recently graduated from the University of Mary Washington, where she was the president of the Performing Arts Club. Ms. Mirabello has studied with Virginia Ballet Company since 1990, performing as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker, Odette in Swan Lake, and Alice in Alice and Wonderland. Ms. Mirabello has participated in programs for the Briansky School and the Joffrey Ballet in New York. In 2001, Ms. Mirabello’s awards include the 2001 Al and Winny Hogskins Award for the Virginia Governor’s School and the Claudia Moore Dance Scholarship for her involvement with dance at Mary Washington. While majoring in psychology and education, she danced for three years and contributed choreography for Pulse Dance Collective, an emerging modern dance company in Richmond. Ms. Mirabello, a staff member at Fredericksburg Ballet Center for the past four years, recently danced the role of Myrta in their spring production of Giselle. |
Leanne Mizzoni is a native of Northern Virginia, where she began her training at The Metropolitan Ballet and continued her training at Virginia Ballet Company. Ms. Mizzoni has also attended Virginia School of the Arts and four Joffrey Ballet summer programs. She is a recent graduate from the Hartt School with a B.F.A. cum laude in Dance Pedagogy. While at the Hartt School she was trained and guided by Peggy Lyman, Peter O’Brian, Hilda Morales and Susan Brooker. Ms. Mizzoni has been teaching professionally for six years at numerous studios in Connecticut and Virginia and was the children’s assistant for Kirk Peterson’s production of Nutcracker. Ms. Mizzoni is also a member of the Manassas Ballet Theater. |
Jessica Moore has studied dance throughout Southern New Hampshire from the age of three up through her high school graduation. She has studied ballet from a very early age under the RAD syllabus and successfully completed all major exams through the Advanced level. Jessica has extended her dance studies at summer intensives at such schools as: BalletMet in Columbus OH, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, The Washington School of Ballet, and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater School in NY City. She has also studied jazz and tap dance and trained in Pilates. Her other interests are in liturgical dance where, prior to graduation, she volunteered her time as co-director/instructor for a children’s dance choir. Jessica is pursuing a BFA in dance at George Mason University, where she will be a junior this fall. She has performed in numerous student works as well as works by faculty members Jim Lepore and Adriane Fang. This summer she is attending a choreography workshop in NYC with the contemporary ballet company Complexions. |
| Juliet Prillaman is originally from Martinsburg, West Virginia, where she began her dance training in classical ballet technique at the West Virginia School of Ballet and Ballet Company. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Radford University as a double major in Dance and Communication. Juliet performed with the Radford University Ballet Theatre under the direction of Frano Jelincic and Dagmar Kessler. While at Radford she began teaching dance through a community outreach program. After moving to the Northern Virginia area in 2006, she has continued to teach classical ballet technique, Pointe and creative movement at various private studios. Over her dance career she has had the pleasure of training under such greats as David Howard, Duncan Noble and Valentina Kozlova. Juliet continues her own training taking dance classes in the D.C. Metropolitan area whenever possible. She is currently pursuing a M.A. in Arts Management at George Mason University. |
Alisha Reay has taught ballet for over 16 years, while continuing to choreograph and perform. Ms Reay began her dance training at Chicago City Ballet, followed by the Ballet Russe School in Skokie, Illinois, where she studied and performed for seven years, achieving the rank of soloist and principal dancer. Ms Reay holds a certification in teaching the Vaganova method of ballet and also teaches character, modern, jazz and hip-hop. She was a founding member of the Union Street Dance Company in Valparaiso, Indiana and was the owner and manager of the Valparaiso Dance Connection before moving to the Washington DC area in 2001. |
Mark P. Rubin has been teaching for more than 30 years. He began his training with such world renowned teachers as David Howard, Dolores Brown, Robert Christopher and George Chafee for ballet; Luigi, Fred Benjamin, and Ron Forella for jazz and Joyce Tristler, Bertram Ross and Milton Myers for modern. He also studied with master teacher Zena Rommett, the originator of the Floor Barre Technique. He has performed with Ailey II, the Joffrey Ballet, Bertram Ross Dance Co., the Batsheva Dance Co. and the Fred Benjamin Dance Company. Mark is Lifetime Certified in the Floor Barre Technique. He has taught company class for CityDance, has been Ballet Master for Manassas Dance Company and the Dance Director at the Madeira School in McLean, Virginia. |
Mary Shelton was born and raised in Ithaca, New York. She began teaching dance in 1995 while still in high school. She then attended Oklahoma City University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Dance Management. After graduation she returned home for a year to teach before moving to northern Virginia. She has been teaching ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, precision, lyrical, and pom poms at various dance schools (to the young and to the young at heart) in this region since 2002 |
Heidi Spence began her training at Lascu School of Ballet in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she performed for seven years in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s production of the Nutcracker. At twelve she attended American Ballet Theater’s four week summer program studying under such artists as Wes Chapman, Cynthia Harvey, and Megali Messac. A year later, Mrs. Spence attended, on scholarship, the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida. She studied privately with American Ballet Theatre’s soloist Yan Chen while also studying under such accomplished teachers as Alla Chernova, Irina Depler, Vadim Fedotov, Fernando Bujones, Peter Stark, Nathalie Krassovska, and Gelsey Kirkland. With Southern Ballet Theatre School and Company, now Orlando Ballet, Mrs. Spence performed solo and corps roles in numerous ballets including Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire, Dracula, Carmen, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Nutcracker, Cinderella, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Faust, and Bolero. While in Orlando, Mrs. Spence taught Vaganova floor barre classes and creative movement at Orlando Ballet School while also teaching at a private school in the Orlando area. Mrs. Spence has been teaching ballet classes for all ages in the Northern Virginia area for the last three years. |
Lilia Manalang and Patricia Milavickas are the registrars for the company and school. |
Dale Hubbard is Virginia Ballet Company and School’s official photographer. |
Mission | Company & School History | Founding Artistic Directors | Board of Directors | Faculty & Staff | Repertory & Performance History | Alumni
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